Present at OLC Innovate 2025

Pioneering Tools and Approaches for Transformative Digital Learning

This track explores the cutting-edge technologies and innovations that are shaping the future of online, blended, and classroom education. It invites educators to share novel methods, tools, and insights that can enhance student engagement, personalize instruction, and foster creative learning environments.

Topics for submission might include:

• • Emerging tools that foster pedagogical innovation, including classroom technologies.
  • AI-driven methods, including generative AI tools like Chat GPT, Bard, and Claude to enhance teaching and learning experiences.
  • Technologies that support individualized and scaled instruction.
  • Tools to assess and enhance student engagement and success.
  • Innovations in virtual reality, augmented reality, and holograms that redefine learning spaces.
  • Community-building and collaboration-enabling technologies.
  • The impact and integration of assistive technology.
  • Mobile learning, mobile apps, and ubiquitous access to learning environments.
  • Technology models that lower economic barriers and promote technology adoption.

Shaping Lifelong Learning Paths for Success in a Dynamic Work Landscape

This track delves into the innovative approaches and technologies that connect education with career success, focusing on lifelong learning, upskilling, and credentialing. It encourages dialogue on experiential workforce development, competency-based education (CBE), and collaborations with industry and professional organizations to prepare learners for a constantly evolving work environment.

Topics for submission might include:

• Building collaborative partnerships between educational institutions, industries, non-profits, and workforce development organizations.
• Innovations in technical and experiential teaching for online and blended learning.
• Strategies for competency-based instruction, including successful cases and industry collaboration.
• Alternative, accelerated, and micro-credentialing pathways, including stackable credentials and prior learning assessment.
• Upskilling and lifelong learning initiatives that foster workforce resiliency.
• Student support strategies, including internships, apprenticeships, and research fellowships.
• The importance of mentoring relationships within your area of interest.
• Partnerships for skill attainment and competency development, with tracking and monitoring from credential completion to employment.
• Addressing unique challenges for specific groups such as active duty military, adult learners, and student leaders.

Inclusive Leadership for Strategic Transformation in Online and Blended Learning

This track emphasizes a broad and inclusive definition of leadership that engages diverse stakeholders in building a foundation for institutional success. It spotlights strategies, practices, and partnerships that align with institutional goals, foster innovation, and promote equity and inclusion in online and blended learning environments.

Topics for submission might include:

• Initiatives and programs for building leaders and supporting emerging leadership in online, blended, and digital learning environments.
• Strategies for fostering inclusivity, diversity, and equity in leadership roles and institutional changes.
• Scaling innovations and best practices across departments, institutions, and systems to promote comprehensive success.
• Creating, implementing and aligning digital strategy at the institutional or district level, aligned with core values and long-term goals.
• Designing operations and business models tailored to online and blended learning, considering efficiency, accessibility, and innovation.
• Inspiring and leading change
• Social impact and transformation through strategic planning, community engagement, and solving real-world challenges.
• Rethinking educational success, organizational structures, and key partnerships to align with the modern educational landscape.
• Using data analytics and human-centered approaches to drive innovation, adapt to changes, and measure effectiveness.
• Developing an AI policy.
• Fostering AI literacy.

Shaping the future of education through innovative design, inclusive pedagogies, open resources, and digital empowerment.

This track invites proposals that explore cutting-edge approaches to learning design, curriculum development, and teaching in online and blended environments. From pioneering methodologies to open education initiatives, this track embraces inclusivity, collaboration, engagement, and the pursuit of digital literacies. We welcome educators, designers, and facilitators dedicated to enhancing the learning experience through creativity, equity, and strategic integration.

Topics for submission might include:

• Inventive and groundbreaking online course or program design methods, including learning analytics, AI, real-world application, storytelling, and scenario-based learning
• Strategies for blended teaching and learning, integrating face-to-face and online environments, and addressing discipline-specific needs.
• Open learning principles: open scholarship, access, pedagogy, research, and educational resources (OERs), including MOOCs and open learning networks.
• Accessibility, universal design for learning (UDL), and inclusivity in technology-enhanced learning, fostering equity and inclusion across diverse learner populations.
• Microlearning models, flipped classroom activities, and non-traditional assessments that engage and motivate learners in blended contexts
• Curriculum and program reforms, including educational transformation and innovative approaches to teaching with technology, humanizing learning, and considering student needs.
• Strategies for addressing performance gaps and promoting success across all populations, including faculty development and institutional practices
• Exploration of affordable learning solutions, ethical sharing of empirical research, and collaborations within teaching and learningExploration of affordable learning solutions, ethical sharing of empirical research, and collaborations within teaching and learning.
• Insights and best practices into AI-practices, initiatives, and research that have enhanced student learning and promoted student success.
• Strategies for utilizing proactive approaches for learning analytics in course design.

Nurturing and Empowering the Digital Learner’s Journey

This track focuses on the innovative ways in which student success and support can be elevated in today’s digital learning environment. It emphasizes services and practices that guide students throughout their entire educational journey, particularly in online and blended contexts.

Topics for submission might include:

• Models and best practices for online student support.
• Advising, mentoring, and success coaching  tailored to online, blended and digital learners.
• Support in digital learning environments, such as student services.
• Strategies for retention and success among online students.
• Methods to humanize online learning and put student care at the center.
• Inclusive and equitable support models, even in emergency times (e.g., COVID-19 planning).
• Specialized support for various student populations like BIPOC, LatinX, Indigenous, first-generation, poverty-affected, and adult learners.

Attendees should expect to be actively involved in discussions and activities during Conversations, Not Presentations. This means participating in question and answer sessions, potential group work, and interactive activities.

These 45-minute facilitated Conversation, Not Presentations sessions should propose an issue, challenge, or idea pertinent to the track description to discuss with participants. This session type should be highly interactive, with discussion, activities, and participant engagement. Presenters organize the conversation around a few key points to facilitate discussion, and the audience explores a presented topic, solves a dilemma, or otherwise contributes to meeting a challenge. Your proposal should include the conversation topic and engaging questions for discussion.

Note: These presentations will be “slide-free” or single-slide proposals (a small set of introductory slides to set the tone and expectations for the conversations is fine). Be sure to make a plan for assistive technology or accommodations for those who rely on slide decks (handouts, interactive activities, conversations, etc.). 

Attendees should expect to be actively involved during a Design Sprint. This means participating in question and answer sessions, group work, and interactive activities.

These 45-minute sprint sessions provide a dynamic and immersive experience for attendees..
Presenters are invited to propose collaborative sessions that tackle specific challenges or explore innovative pedagogical strategies, technological tools, research methods, industry innovations, or leadership approaches. The goal is for participants to gain practical insights and skills they can implement immediately, regardless of their experience level.

Key Features:

• 45-minute total session length
• Engagement: Attendees will be actively involved in the session through various interactive elements, ensuring a high level of participation and learning.
• Focus: Each session should address a specific challenge or topic, providing a focused and structured experience for participants.
• Practicality: Sessions should offer practical takeaways that participants can apply in their own contexts, whether in education, industry, or research.
• Variety: Presenters may use a mix of presentation styles, including group discussions, hands-on activities, and collaborative problem-solving.
• Inclusivity: Sessions are designed to be accessible and valuable for participants at all skill levels, from beginners to experts.

Presenters should be prepared to actively engage with attendees, facilitating discussions, guiding group work, and leading interactive activities. A collaborative and open-minded approach will help ensure a rich and rewarding experience for all participants.

Discovery Sessions allow presenters to share their work, ideas, and innovations in a more personal format. Using a laptop, these sessions allow for a greater exchange of ideas and in-depth conversations about important topics to the OLC community. These digital presentations can include works in progress, research ideas, collaboration opportunities, best practices and practical applications, or pilot projects.

Note: Each presenter must bring their own laptop. An LCD monitor, a small table for your laptop, and power to the table will be provided. Wireless internet will also be available to allow for further exploration of related Discovery Session content.

Key Features:

• Typically 5-7 minutes of information sharing by the presenter, followed by discussion. (Presentation is repeated 2-3 times over a 45 minute timeframe).
• 1-3 presenters engaging in meaningful conversations with attendees.
• Presentation style is conversational, concise and impactful.
• Interactivity is personalized based on audience members stopping by the presentation display. It allows for deeper connections and more detailed discussions. Attendees will move at-will between multiple Discovery Session presentation stations throughout the 45-minute timeframe.
• Presenters are expected to bring their own laptops and provide handouts. OLC will provide tables and power strips.

Attendees should expect to listen to presenter-driven talks before having group discussions during Education Sessions.

Education Sessions provide an opportunity for presenters to share their work, innovations, or new opportunities with the OLC community. The presenters are responsible for driving the conversation and encouraging deep thinking about a topic, sharing practical applications of their work, or providing new and varying perspectives. There are two primary formats for this session type: presentations and panel sessions. Although these are more traditional formats, the presenters/panelists should strive to make the sessions as engaging as possible through polls, audience discussions, and other forms of interaction.

Key Features:

• 45 minutes total. Time allotments may vary but each session should include approximately 5 minutes for introductions, 35 minutes for the main presentation, and 5 minutes for questions.
• 1-4 individuals conducting the session (panel sessions must include a moderator).
• The presentation style is similar to a lecture, while a panel session is similar to an interview.
• Interactivity can range from simple to highly engaging. Uses strategies to engage the audience in active learning. Presenters may use virtual engagement tools to facilitate audience interaction.
• Accompanied by a slide presentation (important for accessibility purposes).

Note: With education sessions, there is a strong preference for proposals that include unique strategies for engaging the audience.

Your engagement activity proposal should breathe life into the spaces between our scheduled events (i.e. during networking breaks, lunches, evening events). Whether it’s an early morning mindfulness session, an engaging activity during the breaks between concurrent session blocks, or a lively evening social, we’re seeking proposals that break the mold. Think unconventional: networking games and icebreakers, quick design sprints, meditation sessions—all are welcome here. If you’re considering an activity that feels like it could be a presentation at your standard educational conference, it’s probably a better fit for our regular academic proposal and not an engagement session. Ultimately, your session should be a catalyst for conversation, collaboration, and community-building in a format that sits outside of the standard presentation format.

We are particularly interested in proposals for activities that showcase innovative methods for building connections, fostering meaningful collaborations, and encouraging participants to interact beyond attending sessions at the conference. Whether you have successfully implemented unique icebreakers, utilizing cutting-edge technologies to enhance networking, or have a love of playing games, you are what we are looking for! The ideal engagement session should feature an activity that serves as a platform for forging lasting connections and promoting a sense of camaraderie among our diverse community of online learning professionals. We invite you to bring your creativity, expertise, and passion for fostering connections. At the end of your extended abstract, please include details on room set-up and supplies needed for your proposed activity.

Key Features:

• 30-45 minute activities that encourage attendees to interact and learn. These are not presentations, although a brief set of slides with instructions at the start may be appropriate.
• The ideal engagement session should feature an activity that serves as a platform for forging lasting connections and promoting a sense of camaraderie among our diverse community of online learning professionals
• Engagement activities are presented in the Engagement Hub (exhibit hall) or the Sanctuary (quiet meditation space). The OLC Innovate Engagement team will work with each presenter selected to determine the best fit in the space and program timing for accepted engagement activities.
• Please include in your extended abstract any specific needs/requests (supplies, space, etc.) needed for your proposed engagement activity. .
• Need some inspiration for your Engagement CFP submission? We’ve put together a series of example submissions to spark your creativity. These examples showcase a variety of approaches, modalities, and themes, helping you envision the potential of your own unique session. Use them as a starting point to craft a proposal that reflects your innovative ideas and passion for online learning.

• • Focused on Blended Learning
  • For Educators at Community Colleges
  • Focused on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB)
  • For Educators at HBCUs
  • For Instructional Designers
  • For Leaders and Administrators
  • For Educators at MSIs
  • Focused on Open Education
  • Presenting Original Research
  • International
  • Focused on K-12